Wide trailers are used to haul wide objects on roadways. The objects being hauled are typically wider than a conventional travel lane of a roadway, so trailer wider than conventional travel lanes must be used to haul the objects. With regard to the agricultural industry, combines and other machinery that are wider than conventional travel lanes are required to be transported to a variety of different fields. Due to the width of these machines, they are often transported on trailers that are wider than the conventional travel lanes.
The wide trailers are difficult to use on roadways because they occupy more than one travel lane. Accordingly, they need special care when they are on the roadways, even when they are empty. For example, special indicators or chase vehicle may be required to warn other motorists about the wide load. In addition, the wide trailers have to make special provisions when turning or using narrow roadways.
Conventional trailers that may be widened also have problems. Because they carry very heavy loads, the trailers need to be extremely robust and heavy. These trailers are difficult to widen or narrow. For example, they may have ribs that need to be extended from a central frame. The ribs are extremely heavy and are not readily extendable. This problem leads to excessive time required in order to widen or narrow the trailers. This leads to excessive time in transporting objects by way of the trailers.